Autonomous Navigation of an Indoor Blimp

1. Autonomous Navigation of an Indoor Blimp Stuart Wehrly ECE-499 Advisor: Professor Spinelli

2. Goals • Design an autonomous blimp that can: • Move from point A to point B vertically • Move from point A to point B in 3-dimension space

3. Control Actuators Sensors Block Diagram

4. Performance Criteria • Choose a blimp applicable to application • Total weight of all components must be less than 7 ounces • Autonomous control

5. Sensors and Control Side View Front View • Rangefinder • 3-Axis Accelerometer    • Basic Stamp II Gondola Motor Motor Motor Circuit board containing microcontroller and ADC Rangefinder

6. One-Dimensional Algorithm Main: If current Z-coordinate != destination Z-coordinate If Z-coordinate < destination Z-coordinate Drive motors to push blimp up GoTo Main Else Drive motors to pull blimp down GoTo Main Else GoTo Main

7. 3-Dimensional Algorithm Main: If current position != destination If current Z-coordinate != destination Z-coordinate Drive motors to move blimp to destination Z-coordinate If current (X,Y) != destination (X,Y) * Drive motors to move blimp to destination (X,Y) GoTo Main Else GoTo Main Else GoTo Main *Once Z-coordinate is set, distance from floor is polled periodically to maintain height from floor

8. Basic Stamp II Blimp Motors Clock Analog to Digital Converter Rangefinder 3-Axis Accelerometer Design

9. Results • It flies! • Accurate control of blimp over Z-Axis • Hardware implemented for 3-Axis

10. Conclusion • What I learned • System Design and Implementation • Control Systems • Servo Control

11. Future Work • Write software to calculate position using acceleration • Move from point A to point B in free space

12. Thank You • Professor Spinelli • Professor Hedrick • Professor Krouglicof • Chemistry Department • Athletics Department • Gene Davidson

13. Questions